


Error 404

by lazy_stitch



Series: I Like Me Better When I'm With You [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Character Study, F/M, Feels, Friendship, Hurt Vision (Marvel), Introspection, Light Angst, Pre-Relationship, Vision (Marvel) Feels, team iron man had a meeting before going to the airport and this explores that, vision has feelings but doesn't know it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-05 20:25:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11585559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazy_stitch/pseuds/lazy_stitch
Summary: It's wrong to hurt your friends, and it's even worse to make battle plans on how to beat and detain them.  Vision knows this, even though he has no feelings (... right?).





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**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing

" _Woah!_ You're that robot - The Vision, right?"

The high-pitched voice surprised Vision.  What shocked him even more was the lack of the snarl from his side saying, "He is _not_ a robot, you _imbecile_."  Some unknown factor made his chest throb with heat, and Vision filed it away to ruminate on later.  He blinked at the... child, for the lack of a more apt word, in front of him that was positively radiating exultance.  Vision's chest gave another scorched throb.

"Yes." He said simply, because Wanda was not around to argue.  Was he not a robot?  That's what every news outlet labeled him as (because the one time he’d been at a press conference and they’d called him one, Wanda had called the reporters some… _choice_ Sokovian words as Vision fumbled quite spectacularly, and after that Steve and Natasha had refused to let either of them be interviewed), and that was the term of choice in the Accords when referring to him and any other future possible entities like him.  Vision wasn't sure what made Wanda so certain he wasn't a robot, and he wasn't sure why his throat always constricted painfully when the word came up in reference to him.

Vision did not miss the odd look Natasha sent him from T’Challa’s side, her lips parted as if she wanted to say something.  But she didn't, and her face quickly became the cool mask she'd perfected almost two decades ago.

"I'm, uh, I don't know if Mr. Stark has told you - or, or anyone, yet, but I'm Peter.  Parker.  Peter Parker.  Uh, Spiderman." The boy stuck his hand out, grinning up at Vision.  Vision shook his hand gently, unsure of why Tony had brought him. Surely it was not to take part in a fight Peter knew nothing about and had no place interfering with?

"Oh wow - you're _warm_!  I was... I've worked with robots - well, little robots, LEGO ones, and...  But you're big, and your processing capacity has to be much larger and always running so _of course_ you'd be hot like a computer that's constantly on...  Sorry, I'm rambling...  It's, just, it’s _so_ _cool_..."

Despite his perfect hearing, Vision couldn't hear Peter.  The boy's voice had faded into silence, yet his mouth kept moving, quite quickly at that, after he'd compared Vision to a computer.  Vision's throat seemed to be completely blocked off, and he felt the polite smile he generally always wore twitching in the corner.  He took control of his facial muscles and stopped it before Peter, or anyone else, noticed.  Wanda would've noticed, though. "Your mouth twitches when you're annoyed, Vis," she'd told him once.  She'd then laughed at his utter bewilderment, pointing to her own lips to show him where he'd previously felt the small spasm he thought he'd corrected quickly enough for her not to see it.  He was afraid she'd tell the others he was malfunctioning, but she never did, even after he'd soundly beat her at chess five times in a row and had reason to be upset with him (because everyone else he’d played against had always shown some signs of annoyance after losing to him just once).  Remembering her made Vision feel better, like some missing part of him had momentarily returned.

" ... I'm sorry, I must be boring you, 'cause you—"

" _Parker_!  Over here, kiddo, right next to me.  We're starting this meeting now."

One could never miss Tony Stark entering a room; he always made sure his presence was known.  With long strides, both Tony and Rhodes entered the hotel conference room they'd secured for the Avengers ( _were_ they still the Avengers?) meeting.  Tony plopped himself into the chair at the head of the table, Rhodes sitting with a straight back on his right side.  Peter gave a little wave before bounding over to the other chair next to Tony, almost missing it in his excitement when he tried to sit.  With as much grace as he could muster in a social setting (which, according to Wanda, was about as much as a month old puppy in roller skates), Vision chose the chair next to Peter since Natasha and T'Challa had taken the two next to Rhodes.  Vision would've much preferred being closer to the door, because he felt (did he _really_ feel?) like they should not even be discussing battle plans to take down their _friends_.

"All right.  First a foremost, this is Spiderkid?  No, no, sorry, Spider _man_.  Happy got him here on time for us.  Kid has super strength, super webs, and can stick to a lot of surfaces, hence the spider moniker.  That guy right there, kiddo," Tony paused to point at T'Challa, "is the king of Wakanda.  Don't really know his deal, but he's strong and on our side, which is what matters.  You should know the rest of us by now from the news - you _do_ watch the news, don’t you?"

"Yeah, of course I—"

"Good.  Then you also know these guys." Tony interrupted what might've been a longer explanation than necessary, tapping the screen of a pad he'd brought with him.  A gentle shove sent it to the center of their small group, and four miniature holograms of their friends (enemies?), joined by one of Sergeant Barnes, shot up from it, rotating slowly.

"They think what they're doing is right, so that makes them dangerous - more dangerous than normal.  And we gotta take 'em out.  So, this session - meeting thing, really, is to discuss just how to do that.  Because not everyone here knows how they function."

Vision felt an acute pain a little to the left of his sternum where his synthetic heart beat.  Though he'd never been stabbed and therefore had no accurate reference, Vision believed Tony's words were comparable to a serrated knife being twisted in his chest.  Something bled from that wound, filling Vision's chest with a chill he could not get rid of, unlike the heat from before. This felt... heavier, and harder.  The intensity of it frightened him since he'd felt this before, just not to this extent.  And Wanda was not around to pull him to her, one hand at the back of his head to press his face to her neck and the other tight on his back to keep him with her.

Vision blinked, schooling his facial muscles into a stone mask like Natasha's.  He could not dwell on what he did not understand.  He did not have that luxury at the moment – hadn’t had it, actually, since that detestable meeting with Secretary Ross.

Tony started on Captain Rogers... Steve.  He said for anyone to speak up when they wanted to, for anything - clarification, if they needed something repeated, wanted to add their own insights (at that point, Tony had fixed Vision with a sharp stare that Vision did not understand the point of), et cetera.  The five miniatures holograms vanished, quickly replaced by Steve's image, about twice as large as it had been before.  Tony went over the technical terms that surrounded Steve, and then Natasha went into specifics on how to fight him, pointing out certain spots on the hologram where he was the weakest.  Tony added to go for his legs, but even though Vision knew that was not necessarily right, he said nothing.  While Steve was unaware, his legs were the optimal target since he favored punching and using his shield.  But, Steve would notice if someone was zeroing in on his legs, and he'd compensate for that.  His legs were still his weak spot, but that didn't mean he couldn't use that to his advantage.

Vision swallowed, looking away from the hologram as Sergeant Barnes’ replaced Steve’s image.  Vision knew he should be paying attention, because he only knew Barnes from the released S.H.I.E.L.D./Hydra files, but he had to really focus on breathing.  Whatever had chilled his chest was slowly losing temperature, and it was wrapping around his ribs and freezing them in one place.  Vision could not explain this phenomenon and dearly hoped it was not enough to "forcefully retire" him, as the Accords said should happen if he malfunctioned enough.  The thought made his throat tighten again, and he almost choked.

They moved onto Sam after Sergeant Barnes.  Grounding Sam was top priority, according to Tony.  Natasha agreed, because Sam became less of a threat with less mobility, but she also made sure both Tony and Peter, especially Peter, understood that Sam packed a punch even without super strength.  A grounded Falcon did not mean he was out of the fight - it just meant he would get _pissed_.  Clint came after Sam.  By that point, Vision felt as if his chest was caving in under some invisible weight, and breathing came as a silent struggle (a quick glance around the table told him no one had noticed his plight, for they were all focused on the holograms).  Natasha was surprisingly silent about Clint, letting Tony explain almost everything even though she was the best qualified to teach about Clint.

"He took away Red - against her will, Vision said."

(Or was it?  Wanda had once told him Clint had a way of making her realize her own emotions and gain confidence in herself.  Initially Vision thought, or perhaps just wanted to believe, that Wanda agreed with the Accords.  She'd hesitated to leave with Clint, after all.  But the way she'd looked in those precious three days between learning about the Accords and their ratification...  Vision hadn't seen her look like that since the months where she was raw with grief, crying nearly every day over Pietro.  Seeing her like that, again, almost broke him.  It sent a shiver down his spine, and a frozen ice pick of worry settled at the base of his skull.)

"This is her.  Wanda Maximoff, recently given the name Scarlet Witch."

The hologram of Clint faded, replaced by Wanda, and Vision forgot how to breathe.

His entire body was overwhelmed by that frozen feeling that had first pooled in his chest, which had, over time, inched down his limbs to his extremities until he lost feeling in his fingertips.  A curious heat burned the back of his eyes as he rested his gaze on the semi-transparent image of his friend (no, that wasn't right, because Wanda had told him that he was her _best_ friend, and after Googling what that meant, her words had touched him to his vibranium core).  His chest throbbed again, but it was different, as if someone had tied a string around his heart and gave a mighty tug, trying to take it away from him.  It hurt and pulsed and caused an ache to shudder across his body, and his fingers to twitched and writhed in ways he could not stop.  He was glad he’d placed his hands in his lap, under the table, so that the others could not see it.

"Vision, you've been quiet this whole time.  You been paying attention?"

Vision tore his eyes away from the mini Wanda, looking into Tony's dark brown irises.  He swallowed thickly, trying to mentally override his systems to make them work normally.  He did not want to be "shut off," if such a thing was even possible.

"Go for the Captain's legs.  Ironically, Sergeant Barnes' weakest point is his metal arm since it is not vibranium, though it is bullet proof.  Aim for his joints and the connection socket at his shoulder to break it apart.  First ground Falcon, then make sure he is physically harmed so he will not continue to fight.  Aim for his chest to wind him.  Agent Barton is stronger the further away he is from you.  Be wary of his arrows because it is impossible to tell which type he will send.  Break his bow and then aim for his chin." Vision rattled off a summary of the information, his voice so flat and cold that even he was shocked by it.  Peter and King T'Challa had no reactions because they didn't know him, but Natasha, Rhodes, and Tony all showed some level of surprise.

He avoided their eyes, returning his to the hologram between them all.  It showed Wanda in her uniform, the long red coat and the black leather pants.  While her uniform definitely fit in with her preferred clothing style, he violently wished it showed her as he saw her, the young woman who'd taught him how to slide around the kitchen in socks.  Wanda was a very kind person, and the hologram was... stiff and severe.  He was used to her smile, not the hard line the hologram's mouth had ("I have a... _what was it, what do they call it_... resting bitch face, Vis.  People were afraid of me even before I got my powers." She'd told him with a smile gracing her lips and laughter invading her voice.  He didn't understand then, and he didn't understand now, how people could ever be afraid of her).

The heat behind Vision's eyes grew and began to itch.

"Right.  So, kid, you are _not_ to engage her, under _any_ circumstances." Tony turned to face Peter completely.

"What?   _Why?_   You - you said to keep my distance and just web everyone up.  Plus, she's kinda close to my age, isn't she?  Shouldn’t that make her a better match up for me than anyone else?" Peter sputtered, confusion written all over his face.  Tony sighed, leaning his elbows on his knees so he was eye level with Peter.

"Peter.   _Listen to me_.  If you take away one thing from this meeting, I want it to be this: _do not engage Wanda Maximoff_.  If you see her coming at you, you _run away_ and do _not_ engage her _whatsoever_.  Her age and experience, or lack thereof, do not matter because she is _the_ most dangerous out of any of these individuals.  If we're comparing them, Red is a nuclear warhead, and the others are Jericho missiles, okay?  She—"

"Miss Maximoff is not dangerous."

Vision had been actively reminding himself to breathe for a while, but those words passed by his lips without a thought.  They flew from him with a natural force that stilled the whole room.  T'Challa, who had remained as impassive as Natasha, except when he vehemently said that Sergeant Barnes was his and his alone, regarded Vision curiously with raised eyebrows.  Rhodes snorted, a smile spreading across his lips that did not reach his eyes.

"You're joking, right?"

"I was not aware this was a time for jokes." Vision responded quietly, unsure as to why his statement could be perceived as such.  He didn't like the way Natasha narrowed her eyes, staring at the way his chest rose and fell irregularly with each shuddering breath he forced through his body.  Again, Vision tried to override his systems, acutely aware of Natasha's heavy gaze, but again he failed to correct them.  Somehow, he was being blocked, and he blamed it on the numbness settling in his body from the throbbing chill that stemmed from his chest.  The invisible weight had become unbearable to the point where he wondered why his chest was not physically caving in, and he ached as each second passed by.

"Vision, she's single handedly taken out all of us, except Clint – ‘all of us’ includes _Thor_ , who's basically a _god_.  She sent Bruce on a rampage that only stopped because I beat the living shit out of his head to knock him out.  Since then, her control over her powers has _grown_ , and Natasha here has trained her in hand to hand combat.  She's not on Nat's level, sure, but she can beat any lower level S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in a fight without using her powers.  Tell me, how, exactly, does that _not_ make her _dangerous_?"

There was that knife again, this time digging deeper into Vision.  Vision couldn’t breathe, no matter how hard he concentrated on doing so, as it carved a gaping path into his chest.  The tip was cold against his heart, sending a high tempo buzz throughout his body.  He wanted it to stop.  He wanted everything to _stop_.  But it wouldn’t, and the only control he had was over his facial muscles that wanted to twitch and shudder and pinch in ways he could not allow the team to see.

Because if they did, what would they think?

(What would they _do_?)

"She's no more dangerous than anyone else that is part of the Avengers.  You yourself, Mr. Stark, have fought with Thor.  So has Captain Rogers.  Agent Barton—"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, buddy.  She incapacitated _you_.  No one else on this world, or any other enemy we've come across so far, could even _dream_ of doing that."

Vision broke eye contact with Tony, looking down at the conference table.  He had no rebuttal for that, though he felt... odd, hearing Tony say it.  Vision felt that it was a lie, but the more he thought about it, the less proof he had to contradict it.  It... it felt _wrong_.  It made him feel _dirty_.  Though it was impossible, it made his (empty) stomach churn and rise to his throat, and his skin crawled.

Vision's hands flexed under the table in his lap, and the heat in his eyes began to pool under his lower eyelids.

Were they, his friends (they _were_ friends, weren’t they?)… _afraid_ of him?  He could understand the science behind their reactions, but… Wanda’s face, clear as day, appeared in his mind’s eye, and he suddenly realized why she’d given him such an odd look and why her face fell when he explained the amygdala to her.

(Because it _hurt_.)

It felt like little sharp implements jabbing between his ribs, puncturing his lungs and making his chest deflate.  His breaths now came in short bursts because it had already been hard for him to breathe, but now it seemed as if he could not contain all that oxygen.

"That means only three of us should face Red when she's able to use her powers.  Vision, Rhodey, and myself, because while she’s a wild card, we’re the best options against her.  Peter, what are _you_ to do?" Tony paused, looking at his young charge.

"Run away." Peter responded sullenly.

"Good boy.  Now, Clint was able to stop her at the shipyard with electricity, probably the same type of arrow he used against Vision at the compound.  As long as we can get her distracted, she can't use her powers and anyone _BUT_ Peter can make a move on her if they are in a position to do so.  Nat, Rhodes, any ideas?" Tony finally turned back to the table, pleased with Peter's response.

"Sound waves, maybe.  If you or I got close enough.  I don't have anything else, though." Rhodes shrugged, a scowl on his face.  Everyone but Peter, who was pouting at his lap, and Vision, turned to Natasha.  She leaned back in her chair, a sharp frown on her face.  Vision knew what she was going to say, but he was surprised (and happy) that Natasha was obviously reluctant to speak.

"Vision sparred with her the most, after Steve and I taught everyone, because he could slow down and still have accurate movements to show her how her body should be moving.  And since their powers come from the same thing, he'd know other ways to shut her powers down." Natasha didn't lie, but she also wasn't looking at anyone, especially not Vision.  Though his attention was squarely on the table, Vision felt the gazes of everyone else turn from her to him.  He closed his eyes, the heat burning them becoming unbearable and... damp?  His hands curled into tight fists, and his jaw seemed to lock shut.

"Vision?"

Vision breathed sharply through his nose, but it came in shaky bursts.

"I will not aide you in plotting to harm Miss Maximoff."

"She broke the _law_ , Vision!  She made her choice if she chooses to fight us, whether Clint forced her to leave the compound or not!"

"That law is _unfair_ , Mr. Stark.  None of us were given adequate enough time to process the Accords, nor were we given an option of changing the input to be more welcoming to us since, for the most part, we were written about as if we were already criminals.  Three days is not sufficient enough time to consider something so life changing.  And so far, Agent Barton and Miss Maximoff have broken no laws, unless I am somehow unaware there is a law against leaving the Avengers compound." Vision snapped, nostrils flaring.  His nails dug into his palms, but he didn't feel that pain because the pain in his chest felt much, much worse.

"The Accords are needed, yes, because the good of the many outweighs the good of a few.   _However_ , the world governments are being unreasonable in their attempt to quickly pass them, and they are also being unreasonable when they call Miss Maximoff a 'highly volatile weapon of mass destruction.'  She is _not_ a weapon."  He failed to remember they had also referred to him the same way, too focused on how fearful they – how fearful _everyone_ was of Wanda and how it just didn't make sense.  She was a _human_ , yet they treated her like a wild, uncontrollable _beast_.  Their fear, their distrust of him was easy to process, though it didn’t hurt any less.  He wasn’t one of them; he wasn’t human.  He’d never be human.

(Did it matter, though?)

(The twisting of his insides screamed it did.)

"There was a law preventing her from leaving the compound, which is why I told you she should stay inside.  Because that _is_ what she is, Vision - a weapon!  That was the driving force of how she was even made into what she is today!  Wanda Maximoff is _the_ _most dangerous_ _thing_ I've _ever_ come across, and I've come across _many_ things since I became Iron Man.  She wears her heart on her sleeve, and she follows her emotions wherever they take her."

Vision wouldn't look at Tony, suddenly numb to the whole situation.  None of them were thinking straight, himself included.  He glanced at the hologram slowly turning on the table, but it brought him no comfort, only a cold sense of longing.

"Then, she is not so different than you, Mr. Stark."

With that, Vision stood and left, taking special care to use the door instead of phasing through it.  It was closed, after all, and Wanda said to always use doors if they were closed.

**Author's Note:**

> me: man i hate angst  
> 4 am me: no you love it. make them suffer.
> 
> seriously tho lol i wrote this at 4 am on my phone a day after i posted relativity. y'all in the scarlet vision fandom made me feel welcomed and appreciated (seriously, can't thank y'all enough, esp you lovely, lovely six people who left comments!!), so... i wrote more. i've just been sitting on this though because i didn't want to post it without knowing i had more to post after it. since i do now, y'all get this while i edit the other thing (more introspective character study stuff because that's what i do when i get into a new fandom... gotta get into the characters' heads, and since vision is a tough cookie, he comes first. to me, he's walking the fine line of naive, ignorant, and willfully ignorant about himself/his emotions, based off of him not knowing he could be distracted, his awkward amygdala explanation, and because he was so late to the airport fight and didn't really participate in it at all (also why i don't think he's fully supportive of the accords). hope that came through).


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